Advertising is supposed to be aspirational. Therefore I think you should stop using Belgian beaches in your promotional material. I do not want to know that the only place that I get to wear this new outfit will be on a freezing rock under a grey sky near some frosty water:

Just for the record, beaches really should look like this:

We have a full house at the moment – me and Adrian, Pepper and Mint, my sister Amy, as well as my mum and her partner Josef.

While mum and Josef were sleeping in, Adrian, Amy, and I got up early to see the Brussels Flower Carpet. Most postcards of Brussels’ Grand Place show it decked out in a magnificent floral display of nearly a million flowers. However, if one was to turn up to the Grand Place on any random day, on would only have a 0.4% chance of seeing it like that, as the Bloementapijt / Tapis de Fleurs is only present for three days every two years.

Happily, today is one of those days. While Adrian complained about the position of the sun in the sky and other such things, we climbed up the stairs of the Town Hall to view the carpet from above. This year the theme celebrates Belgium’s presidency of the EU (even though we haven’t had a government ourselves for months). We spotted the emblem of the city (an iris), the patron saint (the archangel Michael slaying a demon), and the letters “EU” woven into the display. A cute little fountain also spurted out from the centre.

It was a gorgeous morning with a bright blue sky, the sun bring out the colours of the begonias and sparkling in the water. We then celebrated our accomplishments with waffles at the secret Waffle Express hidden under the stairs at Central Station.

All the way back in May, I celebrated my first birthday in Brussels. In addition to a trip to the Atomium for my birthday, I also had a few other treats.

Firstly, the city held a grand parade on my behalf. The theme of Zinneke parade was “The Dinner Table”, and was filled with colourful participants from all the different neighbourhoods of Brussels. One smart idea was to shape the parade into a loop that started everywhere at the same time. That way, no matter where one was on the route, one didn’t have to wait for it to begin – much better than the two hour rain-soaked wait that we spent at the end of the route in Dendermonde.

We also had a surprise Aussie houseguest for the weekend – Anna, one of the original Canberran Cookies. She joined us for lunch at one of our favourite restaurants – it’s called Houtsiplou, but we can never remember the name. They serve great modern cuisine, and they also let you draw in their bathroom.

On the Saturday night we hosted an evening of cosmos, champagne, and cupcakes. I ordered mini-cupcakes from this cute little shop down the street called Merrily’s. Truly, to have both a castle and a cupcake shop within a few minutes walk is a wonderful thing. As is tradition here, I brought some into work on the Friday, then picked up a fresh batch for the party on Saturday.

One thing that I really like about parties here is that many people are newcomers and eager to mingle. In Brussels most everyone has an interesting story to tell about how they got here and what they did once they arrived. While I was a bit sad that I couldn’t celebrate with my family and friends back in Australia, I was very glad that Anna was able act as their representative. However, when I looked around our living room and saw all the fascinating people who we have met in the past year, I decided that Belgium is not such a bad place to turn 30.

Photo from belgiumtaste.be

I have a soft spot for World’s Fair structures. Seattle has the Space Needle and Paris has the Eiffel Tower, but only Brussels has the Atomium. On a fine day I can see the 102-m tall ball-and-stick model of an iron crystal from our apartment, and it always makes me smile.

Photo by Musely

On Sunday I discovered that Adrian had made secret reservations as surprised me with dinner in the very top atom. The metro line by our door took us all the way out to the site of the 1958 World’s Fair in less than 30 minutes. They had closed the doors to the general public, and one had to be on a very short list to be permitted entrance. Our names were checked and then we were escorted to the elevator for a private ride to the top.

Photo from belgiumtaste.be

We were seated with a view over Mini-Europe, so we could look down at Big Ben and Mount Vesuvius while watching the Thalys on its way to Paris. Most items were circular including the candles and the menus. We were informed that there was a fixed-price menu, and we could choose any three items from the list. The waiter suggested a starter, main, and dessert, but he gave me permission to have one main and two desserts instead. Adrian had the white asparagus, cheese platter, and cheesecake. I chose the chicken risotto, four-layer mouse, and chocolate meringue.

We meandered over our meals, discussing our lives and our plans, and watching the sun slowly set over Belgium. The lights over Atomium were lit by the end of the night, and as we walked back to the metro station it seemed to twinkle at us in farewell.

Photo by Merdichesky